Catching up

It has been over a month since my last post.  I have a few excuses:  visitors from the US - which means that we didn't really cover new material; very bad colds - first me, then Lorraine;  very bad stomach virus - first me, then Lorraine;  and finally to be honest, writer's block.  I'll try to do better.

Our visitors were very good friends Ugo and Faith Boggio.  We had a very good time during the ten days they were in Lyon.  Check out Lorraine's blog, Lorraineinlyon.blogspot.com, for details and pictures.

We have had a good bit of rain during late October and Early November.  This was our view for a large part of the time.

In spite of the rain, we managed to get out and do things.  Also, we had some beautiful days.  On one of those beautiful days, we went to Place Belleview, which is not far from our apartment.  As we approached the Place, which has a wonderful view over the main downtown of Lyon, we realized that what looked like clouds off in the East was really the setting sun shining on the snow-covered Alps.

Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe at 4000 plus meters, was clearly identifiable.

We had seen Mt. Blanc before from our perch in the Croix-Rousse, high above the rest of Lyon, but the sun hitting the snow-covered slopes made it really stand out on this day.

We recently took a trip on the Vaporetto, a boat that traverses the Soane, not for the tourist trade necessarily, but as a mode of transportation.  You get on at any of its several stops and get off at any of the others for four euros.  Here are some pictures from the trip.

A very long river cruise boat.

Cathedral St. Jean with the Basilica Fourviere in the sun above it.

Croix-Rousse hill behind a couple of bridges.

Eglise St. Nizier, hidden behind two more modern buildings.

Fort St. Jean from the river.

The sky turning ominous.

While we expected the boat to go all the way down the river to the confluence with the Rhone, instead, the boat turned in at a canal into the very modern Confluence development and the Confluence Mall.  The architecture is amazing!

Entering the Marina at Confluence.

And, finally, the Confluence Mall.

On November 14, we got our first snow of the season.  It didn't stick that much to the roads and sidewalks, but it made for a very pretty night view from our windows.  The picture below from my cell phone is much lighter than the actual scene.  Phone cameras are pretty amazing these days.

I'll stop for now.  My next post will show some pictures from our overnight trip to Beaune.